New Recipes Pregnant Joolss Pasta, Crunchy Chicory & Watercress Salad, Little Frangipane Tarts

Directions for: Pregnant Joolss Pasta, Crunchy Chicory & Watercress Salad, Little Frangipane Tarts

Ingredients

Pasta

4 spring onions

1 carrot

1 sticks of celery

12 fresh red chillies

1 6 pkg of good-quality sausages

1 heaped teaspoon fennel seeds

1 tsp dried oregano

500 g dried penne

4 clove of garlic

4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 400 g can of chopped tomatoes

a few sprigs of Greek basil, or regular basil

Tarts

6 small deep shortcrust pastry cases

1 egg

100 g ground almonds

100 g butter

90 g golden caster sugar

1 orange

1 Tbsp vanilla paste or extract

350 g jar of good-quality raspberry jam

1 250 g tub of crme frache, to serve

Salad

2 red chicory

1 100 g mixed bag of prewashed rocket and watercress

Parmesan cheese, for shaving over

1 lemon

Seasoning

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt & black pepper

Directions

Pasta

1. Get all your ingredients and equipment ready. Turn your oven to 190C/375F/gas 5. Fill and boil the kettle. Put a large frying pan on a high heat. Put the standard blade attachment into the food processor.

2. Trim the spring onions, carrot and celery. Roughly chop all the vegetables, then blitz in the food processor with the chillies (stalks removed). Add the sausages, 1 heaped teaspoon of fennel seeds and 1 teaspoon of oregano. Keep pulsing until well mixed, then spoon this mixture into the hot frying pan with a lug of olive oil, breaking it up and stirring as you go. Keep checking on it and stirring while you get on with other jobs. Put a large deep saucepan on a low heat and fill with boiled water. Fill and reboil the kettle.

Tarts

1. Put the 6 pastry cases on a baking tray. Make a frangipane mixture by cracking the egg into a mixing bowl and adding 100g of almonds, 100g of butter and 90g of golden caster sugar. Grate over the zest of 1/2 an orange and add 1 tablespoon of vanilla paste or extract. Use a spoon to mix everything together. Spoon a small teaspoon of jam into each pastry base. Top with a heaped teaspoon of frangipane, add another small teaspoon of jam, then finally another heaped teaspoon of frangipane. Put the tray in the oven on the middle shelf and set the timer for 18 minutes exactly.

2. Top up the saucepan with more boiled water if needed. Season well then add the penne and cook according to packet instructions, with the lid askew.

Salad

1. Trim off the bases of the chicory, then click apart all the leaves and quarter the heart. Scatter over a platter, then sprinkle the rocket and watercress on top and toss quickly with your hands.

2. Crush 4 unpeeled cloves of garlic into the sausage mixture and stir in 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and the tinned tomatoes. Add a little of the starchy cooking water from the pasta to loosen if needed.

Seasoning

1. Speed-peel or shave some of the Parmesan over the chicory salad and take it to the table with a bottle of extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon wedges for dressing right before eating.

2. Drain the pasta, reserving about a wineglass worth of the cooking water. Tip the pasta into the pan of sauce and give it a gentle stir, adding enough of the cooking water to bring it to a silky consistency. Taste, correct the seasoning, then tip into a large serving bowl.

3. When the little tarts are golden and cooked, turn the oven off and take them out. Serve them warm, with a dollop of crme frache on the side.